Worth The Risk
by sobia.ezria.pll
Summary: Ezra sees Aria on a date with Jake after their break-up. Ezria one-shot. Co-written by HarryLovesGinny09.


**Aria:**

Aria sat at the Brew with Jake, listening as he told a story of some karate tournament he'd fought in. Truthfully, she was only half-listening. Her mind was elsewhere, the same place it always was, whether she was at school, with friends, on a date or anywhere else. She'd see the piercing blue eyes wherever she went, even when she was asleep.

_Ezra_

Just the name caused an electric current to run through her body. She'd be lying if she said she didn't love him. But she knew she had to move on, find a way to stop letting him invade her every thought.

"Aria?"

"Huh?" Aria blinked a few times as Jake's voice broke her out of her thoughts. "Oh sorry" she said, blushing, thinking of how awful it was that she was thinking of Ezra while on a date with a completely different guy, a guy who had been nothing short of a gentleman the entire week they'd been dating.

"Are you okay?" Jake asked, peering closely at her.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just a little tired." Aria replied.

"Do you want me to take you home?" Jake asked, looking slightly disappointed.

"No, I'm fine." Aria responded.

"How about we go for a walk in the park?" Jake asked.

Aria smiled. "Sounds good."

"Let me just pay." Jake said as he tried to catch the waitress's attention.

The bell above the door that signaled a new customer chimed and Aria turned in the direction of the door, freezing when her eyes met the deep blue ones that were permanently imprinted into her brain.

**Ezra:**

"Daddy, can we go to the park?" Malcolm asked, tugging on Ezra's hand as they walked down the street with Maggie.

Ezra looked to Maggie who shrugged. "Sure buddy! Let's go."

"Yay!" Malcolm said, jumping up and down. Ezra and Maggie smiled at his enthusiasm.

"Do you want to grab some coffee along the way?" Ezra asked Maggie.

"That would be great." Maggie responded, smiling.

"Okay. Malcolm we're going to make a quick stop on the way so mommy and I can get some coffee, okay?"

Malcolm nodded. "Okay, but hurry. The other kids will take the swings if we don't get their fast."

"Don't worry bud, nobody's going to take your swing." Ezra assured the little boy as they entered The Brew.

As soon as they walked in, Ezra's gaze connected with the hazel eyes that could only belong to one person. The person in question stared at him with a shocked expression on her face.

_Aria._

She wasn't alone either. She was sitting with a guy who looked to be in his early twenties with brown hair. He clearly hadn't noticed her reaction yet as he was trying to wave down a waitress.

"Dad, look it's Aria!" Malcolm said, pointing at the young brunette, whose gaze was transfixed on Ezra.

"I'm going to go order our coffees." Maggie said, walking towards the counter, but her words fell on deaf ears. Ezra was lost in his own word, a world where it was just him and Aria in the Brew, blue eyes meeting hazel ones. There were a million emotions hidden behind her eyes, love, confusion, shock, sadness...the list went on. It took every ounce of Ezra's will power to not go up to her and kiss her. Instead, he stood rooted in his spot.

**Aria:**

"Aria? Aria?" Jake waved his hands in front of her face.

"I'm sorry." Aria said, tearing her gaze away from Ezra's.

Jake stared at her strangely. "Do you know that guy?" he asked, gesturing to Ezra.

_Know him? I'm freaking in love with the_ guy. Aria thought. Instead, she said "Um yeah, he's my...ex-boyfriend." It took a great amount of difficulty to say the last word, and, when she'd managed it, she tried really hard not to cringe. She felt her eyes fill with tears, but she willed herself not to let them out. "Could you excuse me? I need some air."

"Um, okay." Jake replied.

Aria stormed outside and walked quickly down the street, her head low as tears started falling from her eyes.

**Ezra: **

Ezra watched as Aria talked to the boy she was sitting at the table with, only then realizing that she was on a date. Anger surged through his body. Had she really moved on that fast? What happened to her love for him? How could she just get over him after just two weeks?

As he watched, Aria said something to her date and got up from the table, walking right past Ezra as she went outside. Ezra sent Malcolm to tell Maggie that he would be back, and then he chased after Aria, running after her as she walked quickly down the street.

"Aria!" he said, grabbing her arm and spinning her around.

"Let me go!" she said angrily, trying to free her arm, but Ezra's hold was firm.

"How could you?" he said angrily.

"How could I what?"

"You know what! It's only been two weeks and you're already seeing someone else? Does the year we spent together mean absolutely nothing to you?"

"Are you kidding me?" Aria cut him off. "You're all I ever think about! I'm not over you in the slightest, why the hell do you think I'm with Jake? You're in my every freaking thought and I can't handle it! I don't know if I'll ever be over what we had, what we _have _so don't you _dare_ accuse me of not loving you or of being over you because if you really think that then I guess you don't know me as well as you thought." By this time, her face was completely red with rage and she was shouting, not caring if anyone else heard her. Ezra stood there, stunned. Aria began walking away again.

"Aria." Ezra said and she stopped.

"I can't live without you. I need you back." Ezra said desperately. Aria turned around and looked him in the eyes.

"Ezra, I can't. I can't handle it. You have a son now, and you need to focus on him. He needs his father and I can't stand in the way. I refuse to burden you when you already have to deal with this.

"You're not a burden, don't ever think of yourself that way." Ezra said, brushing a lock of hair out of Aria's face. She stepped back a little bit and Ezra dropped his hand. "Aria, I need you. I can't get through this on my own. And I know you and Malcolm would get along great."

Aria shook her head. "I'm sorry but I can't. Ezra, you need to focus on taking care of him. Plus, you're my teacher again, and I can't go back to the way things were before. We'd be going in circles, and I just can't keep fighting for something that I don't think is going to work." With each word, Aria knew she was breaking Ezra's heart more than she already had and it killed her that she was causing him so much pain. But she had to make him see how impossible their relationship was. "Maybe...maybe you should start seeing someone else." Aria said carefully.

Ezra immediately shook his head. "I can't see anyone else, I'm still in love with you."

Aria felt her tears start to spill over. "But you can't. You have to forget about me."

"You remember that day when we met by the clock tower?" Ezra asked.

Aria nodding, trying to hide her smile at the memory of them kissing in the rain.

"I hadn't originally planned on meeting you that day." Ezra admitted. "I thought that maybe we were better off apart, that if we weren't together neither of us would get hurt. Your parents wouldn't punish you and your dad would stop coming after me. But that very same day, one of my students came up to me, and he recited a quote." Ezra paused and Aria waited for him to continue. "Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid. That's what the student quoted, and in that moment, I knew that I had to meet you that night, that our relationship was worth the risk."

"But what if it's not? What if we're just living in a fantasy world where everything's perfect but our relationship is just doomed to fail in the end?" Aria asked.

"Nobody knows what the future holds" Ezra responded. "How do you know we're not going to get through this and everything else just like we have in the past?"

Aria didn't respond so Ezra continued. "Aria, I love you."

Aria didn't say anything, instead she leaned forward and kissed him right in the middle of the sidewalk. That was all the answer Ezra needed as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back, happier than he'd been in two weeks.


End file.
